Canada has shut down its embassy in Iran. Within 5 days all Iranian diplomats will be expelled from the country said Foreign Minister John Baird as he added “Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today. Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran … Diplomatic relations between Canada and Iran have been suspended.”

Ottawa has had longstanding bad relations with Iran due in part to its animosity to its neighbour, the Canadian ally Israel. This has culminated in Canada stating that diplomats can no longer work safely in Iran. The United States and Britain have both closed their embassies in Iran prior to Canada’s closure. Britain’s embassy was closed last November, while the American embassy has been closed since 1979.

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Claudia McNeilly is an editorial intern at the Toronto Standard. You can follow her on twitter at @claudiamcneilly